Crouching Pony Hidden Dragon Steam Release

Senseï is an undisputed chieftain. His followers are used to every martial, extortion and infiltration practices. Pony and Biki are his best students, his true pride. This duet masters the chakra techniques on their fingertips and hoofs. Together, they rule the city and its surroundings.

Although everyone respects and fears them, they are hunted by the law enforcement.

They are Ninjas …

The Game

Taking control of Sensei’s trusted students Pony & Biki, your thrust into a world of action and intrigue where your curious nature to discover hidden objects is greatly rewarded with increased combat abilities and physical upgrades.

With over 30 missions to discover set across 6 varied maps, the action comes thick and fast as you battle wave after wave of enemies’ intent putting you down. Careful consideration is required during each encounter to avoid inheriting damage from your own weapons.

However, as your characters evolve, so will their ability to improve their combat techniques, weaponry and bonus upgrades. “CPHD” requires an explorative approach in order to fully realize the depth and details of the action available.

Seek out the rich environments to discover the array of upgrades and hidden treasures scattered throughout this sprawling world!

Game Mechanics

Under his false look of simple arcade game, “CPHD” hides a persistent world of rich and various rules, where « run’n gun » mechanics (like Shock Troopers or Ninja Commando) are mixed with playful « RPG » ones, ( like in Zelda or Secret of Mana).

Indeed, in “CPHD”, you absolutely have to explore every level and vast maps to find the necessary resources for your game improvement (collecting money and bonuses such as life bonus, bombs, fire bonus, extra time, resurrection potion or special Ninja techniques).

Every enemy destroyed will give you extra experience points to help your character move on to the next level with some extra life.

When shooting them, make sure to adjust the color to the one your enemy is firing (blue or red) or it could backfire at you!

Treasure chests are hidden everywhere. You’ll have to find them in order to afford equipment and weapon upgrades in the shops so you’ll become a merciless war machine!

However, be careful to use your life and money resources wisely as they are limited … and if you don’t prepare yourself, you’ll highly risk going through hard times!

You also will have to progress slowly to make sure you won’t be burdened by opponents and be penalized when enemies will assault you massively in an “arena mode”.

Managing wisely your moves and jumps will give you a strategic speed advantage on them.

You can also try to play in Co-op mode, it’s even funnier and more strategic.

The resource number stays the same, but will you know how to share?

Good luck and go kick some ass!

About the NEO-GEO console

Several reasons have pushed the developers to develop the game on this console.

The Neo -Geo is a legendary console that made them dream throughout their childhood and teenage years. When they decided to bring their character Ninja Pony to life, they wanted his early adventures to take place within the universe of Neo-Geo.

Being born into this world, the “Rolls Royce” of consoles, was the team’s “welcome gift” for Ninja Pony.

In addition, this made total sense in relation to the character’s story. Crouching Pony Hidden Dragon (CPHD) narrates the teenage years of Ninja Pony. By comparing with the video games history, Neo-Geo consoles are the teenage years of video gaming!

Therefore, the developers have been able to anchor Ninja Pony in the story of videogames, as much as a Sonic or a Mario has a birth, a teenage and adulthood. They found a way to go back in time!

Finally, there was also a technical challenge Le Cortex was willing to take up when they realized there were very few traces and tools to develop a game on Neo-Geo. They also found that knowledge was disappearing… As archaeologists, they went on investigating how these games were developed. They created their own production chain, reworked directly in pixel art, etc. They benefited from the acquired experience and then returned to the old methods, just to remove the dust from their slots! It was an exciting job for them similar to a video game craftsman’s job!

About the PC version

When they announced the game on Neo-Geo, many have expressed their regret of not being able to play “CPHD”. As Le Cortex ambition is to offer original playful experiences to the largest number, they did not want to be elitist, nor save this experience for older gamers who had experienced the Neo-Geo times. So that is why they have decided to adapt the Neo-Geo experience on today’s gamers platform: the PC!

About the Studio

Independent French Studio, located in Paris, Le Cortex conceives, writes and develops games with the ambition to offer brand new playful mechanics.

Le Cortex uses his skills on every aspect of the game, from designing to hardware. Experienced craftsman, the studio fits to the needs of their clients, while taking the initiative of innovating.

Driven by strong convictions and known for the ingenuity of his work, Le Cortex managed to build a trust relationship with publishers and gamers in France and abroad.

Therefore, Le Cortex cultivates a delicate balance between an idealistic spirit and quality knowledge to deliver to all public original gaming experiences.